Winding machine



Nov. 7, 1933. A. LITTLEFIELD WINDING MACHINE Filed March 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 7, 1933. A. LITTLEFIELD WINDING MACHINE Filed March 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l atentecl Nov. 7, 1931? Lane WINDING MACHINE Arlon Littlefield, Cranstom'R. L, assignor to New England Butt Company, Providence, R. 1., a corporation of Rhode Island Application March 30, 1932. Serial No. 601,937 SClaims. (Cl. 11742) This invention relates to an improved winding mechanism of the type employed in Winding thread or yarn strands upon a wire or the like for the purpose of providing a spirally wound cover or insulation therefor.

In the use of winding machines of the type specified for applying yarn or thread strands to wire as a coating or insulation therefor it is the practice to withdraw the yarn or thread from the exterior surface of a cop which decreases in size constantly during the winding operation, and as a result the tension means ordinarily employed for placing the yarn or thread under tension as it is removed from the cop causes an increase in the tension upon the thread as the size of the cop decreases, making it necessary to stop the machine and readjust the tension during the removal of the thread from a cop.

One object of the present invention is to overcome this difficulty and compensate for variations in tension resulting from the decrease in diameter of the cop during the removal of the thread therefrom.

Anoth r object of the invention is theprovision of an auxiliary tension mechanism adapted to supplement the primary tension means and compensate for variations in tension arising from variations in the size of the cop.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved tension means for a device of this character which comprisesthe use of a substantially constant primary tension means in conjunction with a variable tension device adapted for use in connection with the primary tension means to effect an equalization in the tension exerted upon the thread so as to produce a substantially equal tension upon the thread regardless of the size of the cop.

Another object of the invention is the provision 40 of an auxiliary tensioning means adapted to contact with a portion of the cop and having an annular concave surface engaging'the base portion of the cop to vary the tension upon the thread relative to the diameter of the cop as the thread or yarn is unwound therefrom.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved polishing arm for laying the thread or yarn uniformly upon the surface of a wire or the like, the improved polishing arm being provided with an end portion which may project upon the opposite side of the'wire from the main portion of the arm and which is acted upon by centrifugal force to supplement the ac tion of its spring and hold the contact portion of the polishing arm firmly against the thread or yarn for laying the thread evenly upon the wire during the winding operation. Other objects and advantages of the invention relate to various improved details of construction and novel forms and arrangements of the parts as willbe more fully set forth in the detailed description to' follow.

Referring to the drawings:- Fig. l is a side elevational view of a winding mechanism adapted for use in winding a thread upon a wire as a covering or insulation therefor, Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through a. portion of the winding mechanism taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1', showing the relative positions of the parts and illustrating the auxiliary tensioning device in relation to the cop or bobbin,

Fig. 3 is a top plan viewof the auxiliary tensioning device,

Fig. l is an inverted plan view of the same,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the wire and thread guiding means with particular reference to the polishing arm, taken substantially along the line 55 of Fig. 2, and, v Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View, taken substantially along the line 66 of'Fig. 5, showing the position of the polishing arm with relation to the application of the thread tothe wire and illustrating its function in, laying the thread strand thereon.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herewith, 1 designates a portion of a stationary support to which the windingmechanisrn may be secured in any suitable or desired manner, the winding mechanism comprising a frame portion 2 provided with bearings 3 for rotatably supporting a driven shaft 4, having a gear 5 secured therei to in any suitable or desired manner. A vertical hollow spindle '7 is rotatably mounted in upper and lower bearings Sand 9 carried by portions of the frame 2, the spindle 7 having a gear lcsecured thereto and meshing with the driving gearli carried by the driven shaft 4. Thespindle Tc'arries a cylindrical cup-shaped member 12, the base portion 13 of which is secured to the spindle by means of a spline l5, and is held securely in place upon the spindle by a lock nut 16 threaded upon the threaded portion 17 or" the spindle body. The

base portion 13 of the cup-shaped memberis provided with an annular rib l8 surrounding the spindle body and concentric therewith, which serves as a housing for a spiral spring 20 adaptshoulder 24 located adjacent to the lower end thereof and seating upon the Washer 21. The spindle sleeve 22 supports a cop 25 having thread 26 wound thereon after the usual manner. The spindle 7 is provided with a threaded portion 28 located adjacent to the upper end thereof and has a longitudinal groove 29 formed in the side thereof.

A washer 30 has an inwardly extending lug 31 fitting within the groove 29 to hold the washer against rotation relative to the spindle, and a lock nut 32 is threaded upon the threaded portion 28 of the spindle and engages the washer 30 to hold the spindle sleeve 22 against the spiral spring 20 sufficiently to place the spindle sleeve under the desired tension for the smallest diameter of cop.

The upper end portion of the vertical spindle '7 is longitudinally slitted, as indicated at 34, to permit the upper end portion of the spindle to be clamped against and hold the shaft 35 of a wire and thread "guiding means 36 firmly within the upper end portion of the spindle; and the extreme upper end portion of the spindle is beveled as at 37 and externally threaded, whereby a beveled internally threaded nut 38 may be threaded thereon to clamp the shaft portion of the wireguiding means 36 securely in place withinthe upper end portion of the spindle.

The shaft 35 of the wire end thread guiding means 36 is provided with a segmental recess 40 extending longitudinally thereof for receiving the wire 41, and has a collar 42 carrying a pin 43 for pivotally supporting a polishing arm 44. The polishing arm 44is provided with a contact plate 45 adapted to engage the wire 41 at the point where the thread 26 is applied thereto, and the polishing arm is yieldingly held against the wire 41 by a tension spring 47 carriedby the pivot pin 43. A thread guiding arm48 is also mounted upon the collar 42 for guiding the thread 26 which serves to increase the mass of the arm adjacent to the free end thereof and thus cause the polishing arm to be influenced by centrifugal force, upon rotation of the spindle, to draw the contact portion 45 of the arm more firmly against the wire 41 as the spindle is rotated. The effect of centrifugal force exerted upon the end'49 of the polishing arm serves to supplement somewhat and render more uniform the pressure exerted by the contact plate 45 upon the wire 41 for producing an even and uniform winding of the thread thereon.-

The cup-shaped member '12 is provided with a vertically extending opening 50 formed in the side thereof, and has a similar opening 51 spaced from the opening 50 by an angle of substantially 90 degrees for receiving and guiding the'thread 26 from the cop 25 to the thread guiding arm 48, the opening 51 being provided with two or more notches 52 either of which may receive the thread as it comes from the opening 50 to position the same properly in its movement to the thread guiding arm 48.

An auxiliary tensioning means 53 comprises a circular plate 54 provided with a central opening 55 of sufficient size to receive the shouldered portion 24 of the spindle sleeve, and has an annular rib 56 depending from the lower face thereof and arranged concentrically with the central opening 55, which rib is provided with member 12.

upon the diameter of the cop 25.

a series of spaced openings 5'7. Each of the spaced openings 57 is adapted to receive and retain a coiled spring 58 adapted to project beyond the rib sufficiently to engage the base 13 of the cup-shaped member 12 for pressing the upper concaved face 62 of the plate 54 against the base of the cop 25, An upstanding lug 60 is carried by the base portion 13 of the cup-shaped member and fits within a slot 61 formed in the annular rib 56 for holding the auxiliary tensioning means against rotation relative to the cup-shaped The face 62 of the circular plate 54 which engages the base of the cop 25 is dished or concaved throughout its extent uniformly from the periphery thereof inwardly to the edge of the central opening 55, thereby forming a continuous and regular inclination of the cop engaging surface, whereby as the thread is unwound from the cop 25 the circular plate is moved upwardly by the coiled springs 58 to maintain contact between its inclined surface 62 and the lower peripheral edge of the cop.

In the operation of the structure above de scribed rotation of the shaft 4 through any suitable source of power will rotate the hollow spindle '7 by means of. the interengaging gears 5 and 10, thus rotating the cup-shaped member 12 andthe wire and thread guiding means 36. A cop 25, fully wound with thread is placed upon the spindle sleeve 22 and pressed down into suitable position with reference to the shoulder 24. A wire or the like 41 is passed upwardly through the central opening 63 in the spindle 7 and is attached to a driven reel (not shown) for winding the wire after thread has been applied thereto from the cop 25. The wire 41 on being 7 passed upwardly through the central opening 63 of the spindle 7, passes through the radial opening 40 in the shaft 35 and upwardly to the winding reel (not shown) which is driven at any suitable speed and by any desired form of driving 'mechanism (not shown) for Winding the wire upon the reel.

One end of the thread or yarn strand or strands 26 is passed from the cop 25 through the opening 50 in the cup-shaped member 12 and then inwardly through the opening 51 in such a manher as to lie within one of the notches 52. From the opening 51 the thread strand is passed across the thread. guiding arm 48 and under the contact plate 45 where it is spirally wound about the wire 41 as the wire is drawn upwardly from Within the hollow spindle 7, through the rotation of the cup-shaped member 12 and spindle 7 relative to the wire 41. The rotation of the shaft 7, cup-shaped member 12 and wire guiding means 36 about the axis of the wire 41, together with the longitudinal lllOVGlIlSIlUOf thewire, tends to wind the thread 26 spirally about the wire 41 as the wire is drawn upwardly through the cen-- tral bore 63 of the spindle '7.

While the rotative movement of the spindle '7 is in the direction for unwinding the yarn from the cop 25, the speed of rotation of the shaft '7 is somewhat less than that required to remove the thread with sufiicient rapidity for covering the wire to the desired degree. As a result a pull is exerted upon the thread which causes the spindle sleeve (and cop carried thereby) to rotate more rapidly than the spindle 7. This differential rotation between the spindle sleeve 22 and the spindle 7 varies somewhat dependent That is, the spindle sleeve and cop are required to rotate more rapidly with relation to the spindle as the contact plate 45 against the wire. form of the end portion 49 of the polishing arm,

amount of thread carried by the cop decreases. The tension exerted upon the spindle sleeve by the spiral spring 20 tends to resist rotation of the spindle sleeve relative to the spindle to a degree which remains substantially constant at all times. However, since the spindle sleeve must rotate more rapidly with relation to the spindie as the thread carried by the cop diminishes, it follows that the substantially constant pressure exerted by the spring 20 causes an increased tension upon the thread as the cop becomes smaller. In other words the tension upon the thread increases with the increase in the differential rotation between the spindle and spindle sleeve, or as the diameter of the cop decreases.

In order to overcome this objectionable variation in the tension exerted upon the thread as it is withdrawn from the cop, the auxiliary tensioning means 53 is provided. This auxiliary tensioning means is so constructed and arranged as to cause the plate 54 to be-pre'ssed upwardly against the cop with greatest force when the cop is at its maximum diameter, by reason of the inclination of the upper face 62 of the plate 54. As the thread is unwound from the cop 25 the diameter of the cop decreases, thus permitting the circular plate 54 to rise somewhat higher before contacting with the base of the cop 25.

As the plate 54 rises to engage the cop, the

tension exerted by the coiled springs 58 diminishes. Therefore the auxiliary tensioning means 53 tends to supplement the spiral spring 20 and cause a greater pressure to be exerted upwardly upon the spindle sleeve 22 and cop 25 to force the spindle sleeve more firmly against the washer when the thread roll is of large diameter, and the tension exerted by the plate 54 decreases, by reason of a slight decrease in the ipressure exerted by the auxiliary tensioning means, as the diameter of the thread roll deordinarily set to exert the degree of tension which is desired when the thread is nearly unwound from the cop. As a result the tension exerted by the conical spring 20 is too small when the cop is substantially filled with thread. The auxiliary tension device 53 tends to develop the greatest degree of tension in the thread when the bobbin is substantially full, and the degree of tension exerted by the auxiliary tensioning device 53 gradually diminshes by reason of the threadroll decreasing in size and thus permitting the circular plate 54 to rise under the influence of the coiled springs 58 thereby decreasing the pressure exerted by the coiled springs 58 on th cop and 22 to press the sleeve against the spindle washer 30.

The extended end portion 49 of the polishing arm it results in providing an additional weight or mass of metal at or adjacent to the free end of the arm 44 which is acted upon by centrifugal force as the shaft rotates to effect a pull upon the arm ale tending to draw the contact portion closely against the wire ll and supplement the action of the spring 4'? in yieldingly holding the In the curved the end by extending partially about the shaft 35, provides an additional safeguard against the polishing arm being accidentally displaced or turned out of its wire engaging position, since the curved end 49 of the arm will engage the wire supporting shaft 35 and prevent material displacement of the polishing arm from its ire engaging position. Whether the free end of the polishing arm is curved about the shaft 35, or otherwise shaped, the provision of the increased mass adjacent to the free end of the arm serves, under the influence of centrifugal force, to press the contact plate 45 closely against the wire when the spindle is rotated and thus supplements the action of the spring 47 in effecting a regular and uniform placing of the thread upon the wire.

What I claim is:-

1. In a winding machine of the character described, the combination with a driven spindle, a cop supporting spindle sleeve rotatably mounted on the spindle, and means engaging the spindle sleeve for placing the thread under tension as it is unwound from the cop, of an auxiliary tension means comprising a spring pressed plate having an inclined annular surface engaging a portion of the cop and cooperating with said first named tension means for substantially equalizing the tension on the thread for all diameters of the cop.

2. In a winding machine, a spindle, a sleeve rotatably supported upon the spindle, a thread holding cop carried by the sleeve, spring means exerting a substantially uniform pressure upon the spindle sleeve for placing the thread under tension, and a tension means supplementing said spring means and adapted to exert a variable pressure upon the spindle sleeve comprising a plate provided with an annular inclined surface for engagement with one end of said cop.

3. An improved auxiliary tension means for iii.

cops comprising a plate member having an annular inclined face arranged concentric with the axis of a cop, and spaced resilient means acting upon said plate member at a plurality of points for forcing the same into engagement with one 5:.

end of the cop.

4. In a winding machine, the combination with a thread holding cop and means for applying tension to the thread, of an auxiliary thread tensioning means comprising a plate member having 5. An improved auxiliary tensioning means for V cops comprising a plate member provided with an annular inclined face arranged concentrically with the axis of the cop, means carried by the side of said plate opposite to said inclined face for supporting a plurality of springs, and spring members carried by said spring supporting means and resiliently supporting said plate .uniformly throughout its circumferential extent to maintain the inclined face thereof in uniform contact with the base of the cop.

6. In a winding machine, the combination with a thread holding cop and a primary tensioning means therefor, of an auxiliary tension means i comprising a plate provided with an annular face inclined inwardly radially from the periphery thereof, and spring means engaging said, plate and yieldingly pressing the annular inclined face into substantially uniform engagement with spirally upon a wire and having a curved end portion extending beyond the contact surface and bent to partially encircle the wire.

8. In a winding machine, a wire guiding memher, a pivotally mounted polishing arm provided with a contact surface for laying a thread spirally upon a wire and having a return bent portion upon the free end of said arm extending partially around said wire guiding member to limit pivotal movement of said polishing arm in one direction.

ARLON LITTLEFIELD. 

